The present invention broadly relates to the art of vehicle suspension systems and, more particularly, to a mounting bracket assembly and supplemental suspension system including the same.
The present invention finds particular application and use in conjunction with suspension systems of wheeled vehicles, and will be described herein with specific reference thereto. However, it is to be appreciated that the present invention is also amenable to other applications and environments, and that the specific uses shown and described herein are merely exemplary.
It is well known that land vehicles of most types and kinds are outfitted with a suspension system that supports a sprung mass (e.g., a body or chassis) of the vehicle on an unsprung mass (e.g., axles or wheel-engaging members) of the vehicle. It is also well known to use supplemental suspension springs, which are sometimes referred to in the art as “helper springs”, on vehicles, such as in applications in which a vehicle will be loaded with additional equipment (e.g., a snowplow secured on the front end of a vehicle and/or a spreader supported on the back end of a vehicle). It will be appreciated that such supplemental suspension springs can be mounted on existing vehicles and/or vehicle structures in any one of a variety of ways and/or using any one of a variety of known mounting arrangements.
One disadvantage of known supplemental suspension systems, however, is that installation of the same often requires substantial disassembly of existing suspension components of the vehicle. This can, in some cases, significantly increase the time and effort involved in installing the supplemental suspension system. Additionally, this can undesirably increase the level of complexity of the installation, which could, in some cases, exceed the capability and/or comfort level of some self-installers.
What's more, some of the components that are disassembled may be discarded and replaced by new components that are supplied with the supplemental suspension system that is being installed on the vehicle. Sometimes, the new components are significantly different than the existing components. However, in many cases the new components are quite similar to the original parts and only include minor changes or modifications thereto, such as for mounting the supplemental suspension system or components thereof on the associated vehicle, for example.
Generally, it is undesirable to modify the original or existing parts, such as a field modification made by the installer at the time of installation as this can significantly increase the level of complexity and/or effort involved in the installation. As such, new components are typically included with the supplemental suspension system and the original components discarded. This, however, leads to an undesirable increase in the costs associated with the supplemental suspension system. Additionally, such arrangements also undesirably result in the discarding of otherwise usable parts and/or components.
As such, it is believed desirable to develop a mounting bracket assembly, and supplemental suspension system using the same, that is easier to install, that improves the usage of existing vehicle components, and that overcomes the foregoing and other disadvantages of known arrangements.